Chapter 121 You Settled William
Thalia suddenly called out to William, stopping him in his tracks. William turned to look at her, his eyes showing a hint of depth.
"Speak! Any last words before we get married?"
Thalia was genuinely scared, but she also knew that William meant what he said.
"How about you reconsider? I have a terrible temper, no manners, spend money like water, don't respect the elderly or children, and I don't even like animals. A talented young man like you marrying me would be your loss."
"Plus, I'm in the entertainment industry. What if some scandal breaks out one day? What will people think of you?"
"The wealthy families in Emerald City look down on actors the most. Look at Nicholas's cousin - he's been dating an actress for over ten years, they even live together, but the Jackson family still hasn't accepted her. To this day, she's still looked down upon in Emerald City's elite circles. Mr. Brown, for the sake of your reputation, I advise you to think carefully. I'm doing this for your own good..."
William didn't let go of her arm. Listening to Thalia's high-sounding excuses, he nodded in agreement.
Seeing his reaction, Thalia's spirits lifted immediately.
"Mr. Brown..."
"Finished?"
"If you're done, let's go in."
Thalia: ...Wait! This isn't how the script is supposed to go.
"No, wait..."
Thalia tried to grab William's arm for one last desperate struggle.
But clearly, William wasn't going to give her that chance.
"Mr. Brown," the marriage registration office manager came over to greet him. Obviously, William had arranged all this in advance - otherwise, why would they still be waiting here at closing time?
After the manager finished greeting William, his gaze moved to the lady beside him.
Suddenly, there was a sharp intake of breath.
"Ms. Smith."
Thalia always cared about her image in public. Seeing someone greet her, she pulled at the corners of her mouth, showing a standard polite smile.
William took in all of Thalia's changes, a slight smile playing at his lips as he handed the documents to the manager.
"This way, please," the manager composed himself and led them to the registration desk.
William pulled out the chair in front of the registration desk, gesturing for Thalia to sit. She stood frozen, not moving an inch.
Though she said nothing, her attitude was firm.
The staff member looked on, somewhat curiously glancing at her: "Ms. Smith isn't ready yet? Maybe you two should go back..."
Before the manager could finish, William shot him a look, landing on him with a hint of warning.
Was it a small staff member's place to butt in about the woman he'd gone through so much trouble to marry?
The staff member's words came to an abrupt halt.
The manager looked at Thalia with some concern.
William pressed down on Thalia's waist, making her sit in the chair, giving her no chance to struggle.
"There's a document here that needs both your signatures."
William didn't even look, picking up the pen and signing his name.
In contrast, Thalia looked pitiful, not wanting to sign.
William leaned back, his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. Watching Thalia sitting there like a timid quail, his tone carried a hint of displeasure: "Thalia, when these people can get off work depends on you."
"Ms. Smith, do you need us to call the police?" The staff member sensed something was wrong between them and bravely spoke up, ignoring William's almost murderous gaze.
As soon as those words fell, William's entire body radiated killing intent. The pen he was holding snapped, and plastic shards flew onto Thalia's hand, drawing tiny streaks of blood...
Thalia was stunned. She looked up sharply at William, somehow seeing him as the male lead in a murder-for-insurance case.
"No need."
"But..." The staff member was scared by William but hesitated to continue.
Thalia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, steeled herself, picked up the pen, and signed her name.
...
"It's nine o'clock. Do you think they made it?" Angelina propped her chin up, looking at Finn and Brian, half-drunk, maintaining a somewhat confused but trying-to-be-sober demeanor.
Finn shook his head, thinking it was hard to say.
William had the schemes, methods, and abilities, but Thalia, that proud socialite, wasn't easy to fool either.
If they really got into it, it was hard to say who would come out on top!
"Simple - send him a screenshot of today's dinner bill and ask him to reimburse it. If he pays, then it worked. If he doesn't, then he probably got rejected by Thalia."
Brian thought this method wasn't very reliable: "Mr. Brown is usually quite generous."
Angelina clicked her tongue: "Today is different."
As she spoke, she opened her chat with William, sent a screenshot of the bill, and added a message: "To celebrate Mr. Brown winning the beauty's heart, we went out for BBQ. Please reimburse us."
About ten minutes after Angelina sent the message, there was still no response.
Finn thought, damn, must have failed again.
Brian finished his last sip of alcohol: "Forget it, going home to fix the car!"
Angelina's dead-silent phone suddenly lit up. William had replied: "Congratulations to us both."
Then came a transfer of two thousand dollars. Their BBQ only cost six hundred dollars, which meant... they got married?
"I take back what I said this afternoon. Mr. Brown, you've got it."
...
The next day, after Evelyn finished her company business, she called Thalia but no one answered. She contacted Isla and learned she was at the villa.
"Jada, where's Thalia?"
"Still sleeping!"
"Still sleeping?"
Jada nodded: "Let her sleep! She hasn't been able to sleep at night because of her father's situation. It's been so long since I've seen her sleep in."
The old Thalia could sleep from day to night. Since Hayden's incident, she'd been busy dealing with Chase and those illegitimate children who came knocking. It had been a long time since she'd slept so peacefully.
Hearing Jada's words, Evelyn stopped herself from going upstairs and waited on the sofa for Thalia to wake up.
When Thalia opened her eyes again, it was already three in the afternoon.
Hearing footsteps coming downstairs, Evelyn looked up to see her wearing a nude-colored camisole nightgown, the long chiffon hem falling to her feet. She was barefoot, her fair toes painted with pink nail polish, round and cute.
"Did you stay up late last night?"
Thalia made a sound of agreement, taking the cup Jada handed her and drinking half a glass of warm water: "Sort of! I'm going back to the set tomorrow."
"Your father's situation is resolved? You're not worried about Chase anymore?"
"William will handle it."
Evelyn, who had been sitting cross-legged on the carpet, suddenly stood up, rubbing her bruised knee while urgently asking: "You got William on board?"